NCN7 - Lochs and Glens North - day ride side trip advice

[GrumpyGregry]

Riding Pitlochry - Inverness in May. To take advantage of cheap sleeper trains we arrive early on a Friday morning and return from Inverness overnight on the following Monday. I reckon that gives us time for a couple of bits of off route detours. We've pencilled in a visit to Culloden Moor for the Monday.

What else is worth a detour off the main route in the opinions of m'learned friends on CC? Anything around Aviemore for instance?

We will be rough stuff enabled. One CX bike and one rugged disc braked tourer and a chap on an mtb, all carrying luggage but no camping gear.

 

[ufkacbln]

Culloden is fantastic as a visit, and while you are there, don't miss out on other local sights.

The Clava Cairns are close by with a wonderful down hill ( and not so wonderful up hill on the way back) route from Culloden.

Heading down the Great Glen is also fun.

There is also an aviation musem

Dolphin watching at Inverness is excellent, and for a good Craic there is Hootananny and some other excellent live music in Inverness.

 

[jonathanw]

Around aviemore - a ride out to loch morlich and loch an eilein is nice in good weather with a cafe stop at Rothiemurchus on the way back or a pub lunch at the bridge inn. Or alternatively off road route to boat of garten and on to loch garten is worth a visit, also in good weather.

Fort George might be worth a visit just outside Inverness or a Jacobite cruise on Loch Ness to visit Castle Urquhart or just cycle down south loch ness to Dores for a nice pub lunch at the Dores Inn.

If on CX bikes, take the off road (land rover track) section from Carrbridge to Slochd over Sluggan bridge, it is very quiet and scenic.

+1 for Culloden. Dolphin watching can be done without a boat trip by heading out to chanonry point at Rosemarkie. They appear reasonably frequently in the narrows

The ride out to Cromarty from Inverness is also nice on very quiet Black Isle roads, but quite a trip at nearly 40miles return.